>> I enjoy watching the performances of Malcolm McDowell in his evil roles, particularly his part in the movie Gangster no. 1 .<<

Except for the fact he's barely in the film. 90% of that role is played by Paul Bettany. I thought the discrepancy between the actors was ludicrous, since Bettany is about a foot taller than McDowell. I never thought Bettany quite had the right look to play a hard-man. Not a bad film though.

...dare I say, Hagen von Tronje? A villain so valorous that Germans interpreted him as the hero. Even in story [spoilers], after he kills his host's children, slaughters ten thousand men, drinks blood in a flaming building, and tricks his nemesis into killing her brother after he himself murdered her husband and children, his death provokes his enemy into avenging him for the injustice of such a heroic man suffering a death outside of battle. The man is a collosal bastard, and yet the most stone-cold badass in literature.

But also, I agree with Wolf Larsen. He's a villain so sympathetic that The Sea Wolf is really only worth reading for him. The nominal protagonist looks like a simpering pussy beside him, and gets intellectually outplayed to boot. It's not even really clear that London meant for Hump to be the real protagonist, so strong is Larsen's presence.

_________________________"The devil I'll bring you," answered Hagen. "I have enough to carry with my shield and breastplate; my helm is bright, the sword is in my hand, therefore I bring you naught."

>> The nominal protagonist looks like a simpering pussy beside him, and gets intellectually outplayed to boot. It's not even really clear that London meant for Hump to be the real protagonist, so strong is Larsen's presence.<<

Another flaw in the book as a whole is that Maud would never have chosen Hump over Wolf Larson.

I noticed some liking for Westerns in the replies, which reminded me of another villain who fascinated me, one Al Swearengen from the HBO series Deadwood, which, incidentally, had Shakesperean conceits, from what I'm told. Al Swearengen, I should note, would occasionally cross the line over to antihero, which I define as someone who does things normally considered bad, for reasons normally considered good. For example, in the clip below, when you hear him say, "You can go now, brother," be aware that what you just saw him do was actually an act of mercy. Al also had a soft spot for women and, interestingly, the disabled, though he was always gruff and crass in his manner of expressing it, which didn't stop the disabled person from appreciating what was being done and why - in fact I think the disabled person probably liked Al's manner of expression, as there was nothing condescending in it, as he was gruff and crass with everyone. Make no mistake, though. Al was a stone cold killer.

_________________________Elite because we smell the bullshit and do not deign to wallow in it.

>> The nominal protagonist looks like a simpering pussy beside him, and gets intellectually outplayed to boot. It's not even really clear that London meant for Hump to be the real protagonist, so strong is Larsen's presence.<<

Another flaw in the book as a whole is that Maud would never have chosen Hump over Wolf Larson.

I'm actually surprised their wasn't more of a love triangle there. I'm surprised about a lot of what happens at the halfway point in the book, really. Wolf Larsen is by far the most interesting element of that book, so to see him disappear near the end only to be replaced by pages of sweet nothings until he is brought back for a minimal climax is a real shame.

Blemishes and all though, it still remains a favorite. And having Wolf go a slow, painful death yet still using every remaining ounce of his strength to attempt to "eat" Hump at the end was a good choice, and really highlighted the consistency of the character as a whole.

I'm going with Bane. He hijacked a FBI plane, blew up a football field, trapped the entire police force underground, let loose all the prisoners in the city, robbed the stock exchange building and put Batman in retirement. I mean he really fucked him up pretty bad. Nearly broke his back. He looks and sounds menacing as well.

The only time I recall him ever using a gun is when he told one of his goons to follow the commissioner down the sewer. When he refused the order, Bane took that guy's gun and shot him in the leg. Bane snapped a lot of necks. His main weapon was his bare hands.

>> I enjoy watching the performances of Malcolm McDowell in his evil roles, particularly his part in the movie Gangster no. 1 .<<

Except for the fact he's barely in the film. 90% of that role is played by Paul Bettany. I thought the discrepancy between the actors was ludicrous, since Bettany is about a foot taller than McDowell. I never thought Bettany quite had the right look to play a hard-man. Not a bad film though.

I still like how McDowell narrates much of the film. The scene where Bettany kills Lenny Taylor is classic! Such violence with that gentle song "Why" sung by Authony Newley in the background.

I'm sure a parallel is being made to the "Singing In The Rain" scene from A Clockwork Orange.

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"The difference between the man or woman who's a practicing Satanist, from an identity Satanist is that the practicing Satanist looks at the picture, while the identity Satanist studies the frame." -- Anton Szandor LaVey

"Anyone without a sense of humor is too pretentious to be a good magician." -- Anton Szandor LaVey